The greatest humiliation in politics is not necessarily losing, or even losing overwhelmingly; rather, it’s losing when you’re supposed to win.

Such events are called “mortification elections,” and they occurred in 2013 in suburban Oak Park, Maywood, Schiller Park and Morton Grove. They are differentiated from three other types:
* A “validation election,” in which the incumbent (or incumbent’s party) is re-elected by a healthy percentage, which exceeds the margin secured prerviously. These occurred in Park Ridge, Cicero, Arlington Heights, Harwood Heights, Roselle and Wheeling.
* A “benediction election,” in which the incumbent …

Professor Glenn Reynolds reports:Whatever politicians control, they will use against you to get what they want. The furloughs weren’t a reasoned effort to save money: They were an attempt to punish voters for not approving tax increases. If the politic…

New Geography reports on the myth of urban renewal and the death of the suburbs:

A funny thing happened on the way to the long-trumpeted triumph of the city: the suburbs not only survived but have begun to regain their allure as Americans have continued aspiring to single-family homes. Read the actual Brookings report that led to the “Suburbs Lose” headline: it shows that in 91 of America’s 100 biggest metro areas, the share of jobs located within three miles of downtown declined over the 2000s. Only Washington, D.C., saw significant growth.